{Update} with Tierney Pomone: A Lady Who Loves Beer

A dream date with Dave Grohl, Bourbon County Rare, and a kitten named Simcoe, Tierney Pomone has her priorities in order. Check out more of what Ms. Pomone has in store in today's update. 

So what's new? I decided to rope myself in about halfway through last year realizing I had stretched myself pretty thin and my priorities were a mess. I've focused my writing to just Stouts and Stilettos and SaraBozich.com. On the professional side I've successfully scaled myself down to just one job, maintaining my cubicle-drone-by-day, craft-beer-evangelista-by-night persona. In my personal life I moved into a new place out of the suburbs and into the actual city of Harrisburg and got a kitten who we appropriately named Simcoe.

Kim Leshinski: A Lady Who Loves Beer

Kim Leshinski is serious about her beer.

A New England native, this Rochester Institute of Technology graduate has combined her love for beer and design into her own small business. Since moving to Chicago to expand her tastes and her portfolio, she's become a noted beer blogger and avid home brewer, founded the Chicago Beer Gals Collective, and left her full-time agency job to pursue self-employment.

Currently working toward becoming a certified beer judge and Cicerone, this smarty-pants beer drinker has made quite a name for herself and no doubt will continue to inspire other women to join the ranks.

Read more about this lady who loves beer in this month's {BeyondATL} feature on women and beer. 

My beer has lady parts (and yours does too)

Dear Fellow Imbibers,

My beer has genitals (again).

A few months back the internets kind of blew up over a craft beer misstep made by a women's forum when they recommended fruity beers as an entryway to the "confusing" world of beer (they've since removed their video). You can read an expletive-laden version of events by Claire Lower (because expletives are really my favorite) or a more sober rendition from Guys Drinking Beer.

Click image to enlarge

This month, La Fleur Magazine's boasts "Girl Beer" as a feature on their January 2014 cover (pictured at left). The gendered article title has elicited some negative reactions. Ginger Johnson of Women Enjoying Beer takes issue with the terminology, stating that "nothing good can come from the perpetuation of less than full respect titles" and that "it perpetuates [the idea of] gender oriented beers."

Despite my own mild objections to the headline, La Fleur's article (which you can read online for yourself) does a decent job of recommending some pretty top-notch beers in a manner that both respects the intelligence of its readers and does justice to the beer itself. Not to mention, it was written by women who actually like beer.

What's a girl to do?

Does it matter what we call ourselves if the end goal is to invite more women to the table? Or is it disrespectful to use "girl" in any context when we're talking about grown women? Is a gender-neutral approach really effective or required when we're trying to call more women to attend to their glass?

Post by Women Enjoying Beer.

Jennifer Rios, a commenter on the WEB Facebook page, says context is key:

"After reading the article, I'm thinking 'girl beer' was meant to be more of a tongue in cheek attention grabbing headline. None of the selected beers are what that title brings to my mind [...] my lady friends & I would have no problem with Pike or Dogfish. Girl beer is just a term, it only has as much power as you give it."

@ATLbrewbabe, who recently started up a Georgia chapter of Girls Pint Out had this to say when asked for comment:

"I'm 31 and don't mind the word 'girl' and use it frequently. I don't think twice about seeing the word 'girl' all over pop culture either, i.e. HBO's GIRLS, Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Truth is, there isn’t a clear-cut official marker of adulthood in our culture. If you're 35 living with mom and dad are you a girl (by immaturity) or a woman (by age)? I'm so confused. That's it, I'm bringing back the oh-so-slang, but gender neutral 'peeps.'"

Rather than getting our panties in a bunch, I say we go commando and shine some light on our similarities. Arguments aside, quibbling about the difference doesn't seem to inspire people to shake their groove thing on a common dance floor. You know what I mean? Of course you do.

So let's just let beer be sexy, and if so-called "girls" want to come to the party with their drinking cards, let's ask them to join the rumba. Shall we? Until the next glass my lovelies, eat well, drink whole heartedly, and savor the deliciousness of your daily life. As always, I'm devotedly yours in the way of beer.

Cheers,
hb

{Update} with Jessica Smyer: A Lady Who Loves Beer

The updates from last year's features on women and beer are still pouring in. Here's an update from Jessica Smyer, a local imbiber with a taste for Asheville, Belgian style brews, and beer-cations.

So, update. What's happened since we last checked in with you? 

Admittedly, not much has changed lately. I suppose smooth sailing on the sea of life isn’t always a bad thing. Cheeseburger Bobby’s recently held a fundraiser for Murphy-Harpst Children’s home and raised $11,000. I’m glad we got to benefit a local organization. We are developing the new restaurant schedule for the next year: oncoming franchisees, store updates, and the like. Personally, I’d love to see one open near Savannah or in Florida.

Aly Moler: A Lady Who Loves Beer

There might be a chill in the air, but Aly Moler still has ice cream on the brain. Ice cream and beer, that is. Her goal? More designated ice cream eaters. 

Inspired by a night of drinking, someone poured a beer in the ice cream maker and the idea for Frozen Pints was born. 

A Virginia native, this small-town girl has big city dreams with hopes of growing her small business into a nationwide brand. Partnering with local craft breweries like Terrapin for a series of limited release flavors, Frozen Pints is focused on building a strong presence in Atlanta before expanding to a wider audience. 

With more beer than cream, you'll still need your drinking card to partake. So pick up a pint yourself with your ID ready from local Atlanta markets like Gremlin Growlers, Smyrna Beer Market, and Barrel and Barley (to name just a few). You'll also find Frozen Pints making it's way onto restaurant and bar menus around town, so ask your server for a scoop.

I caught up with Aly over the holidays and asked her to dish about her future plans, past achievements, and favorite spots in Atlanta to partake. 

{Publik Draft House}: Your Beer On Tap

See more of my visit to Publik Draft House

In the early hours of a cold December morning, Eddie and his bar manager are already hard at work preparing for patrons of the Publik Draft House in downtown Atlanta. Despite his full schedule, Eddie pulls up stool to chat about The Great Southern Craft Beer Competition and his reasons for partnering with Monday Night Brewing.

A dabbler in homebrew himself, Eddie understands the hard work and craftsmanship that go into producing something competition worthy. "I've tried home brewing. I really appreciate how hard it is. The hand-crafted consistency. I've made a mess of it myself, so it really amazes me when someone can produce something quality over and over."

For Eddie, it's also about building stronger ties to his community. "If it weren't for the locals, we wouldn't be doing well. The locals make us. And although we've got the peach on our license plates, and all that, I don't know if I believe it. This sense of living local. There's local food here from farmers that we can't get. There are local beers I'd like to have on tap that aren't available. I want to have my restaurant reflect my community and give people a taste of home. The homebrew competition is part of that."

And in a little over two weeks, Eddie is going to get his wish. Monday Night Brewing will host a kickoff party to celebrate locally made beer and food.

Scheduled for January 19th, the kickoff event is open to the public. The tickets (a cost of $25) will buy you a souvenir pint glass, and free access to the event, including complimentary food, entertainment, and the chance to win a variety of prizes. Attendees will also receive 6 complimentary tastings of Monday Night Brewing beer, brewery tours and beer-based food pairings. To purchase tickets visit: www.greatsouthernbeercompetition.com. 

About the homebrew competition
The entry period for the Great Southern Craft Beer Competition begins January 19 and runs through March 15, 2014. Applicants must submit six bottles of their specialty home brew along with an entry fee of $10 per brew. There is no limit to the number of entries that may be submitted. The “Best in Show” winner will be selected by a panel of four judges and announced in April, winning the prize of distribution for one year in P.D.H. and $1,000.

Those interested in the Great Southern Craft Beer Competition celebration event or competition can visit www.greatsouthernbeercompetition.com or connect at www.twitter.com/BeerDownSouth. 

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This is a sample sponsored post. No monies were exchanged for promotion or other services provided by heybrewtiful. For sponsored post pricing and details, please contact Jessica Miller at heybrewtiful@gmail.com.

Top 10 Moments {My First Year in Craft Beer}

I did something really hard, you guys. I made you a list. It was hard, but I did it. FOR YOU. This list is by no means a complete record of all the salsa dancin', sunscreen lovin', ice cream eating wonderfulness that occurred in the last year. But ya know--brevity. It's not my strong suit.

My first year in craft beer has been sort of epic. On the one hand, there have been some grand beer-related failures... like that one time I thought I'd brew a beer with beets (let's not bring that up at the dinner table, shall we?).

On the other hand? I'm just completely freaking blown away by the amazing bloggity-beer goodness that this inaugural year has entailed. Because for real you guys, I sort of only do this because I'm obsessive and neurotic and have a habit of talking to myself... something like that. You too, right? I promise, I can stop writing about beer annnny time I want. 

Seriously though, it's been an amazing whirlwind of a year. And although I'm not always certain of the "why" when it comes to figuring out what I'm doing with this precious little life of mine, I'm pretty sure craft beer was destined to be a part of it.

Without further ado, here they are, in the exact order that they came to mind, the BEST ten(ish) moments from the first year of HB.

1. The day Annie gave me her direct line.

2. The day they let me put radishes in the beer.

3. That one Monday, after hours, I spent sipping homebrew.

4. The afternoon I went to two Atlanta bars in one day.

5. The one time I got up close and personal with a box of wet hops.

6. The day I met the Duchess and interviewed a good friend.

7. The afternoon I got to spend photographing whiskey barrels.

8. The night craft beer gave me a taste of family.

9. The day I realized we're not an anomaly, but we are worth talking about.

10. Getting to witness so much amazing, positive press about women in the craft beer industry.

My list of most anticipated moments for 2014 is getting longer by the minute so it's time to toast the successful transfer of eggs to the fridge, or crack open that single-wide IPA for another round of research, or just, ya know, fold some laundry or something. Your pick. Until next time, my lovelies, I hope your glass is full, and your heart is open, and your passions are pouring just right.

Cheers!
hb